Question: Waste Time – 15 Ways House Cleaning Employees Kill Time

Answer: Waste Time – 15 Ways House Cleaning Employees Kill Time

6: Waste time because you don’t have boundaries

If you love your clients and you’re really BFF’s – then go to lunch when you’re not working.

Otherwise, you will waste time because you don’t have boundaries. Now, it is easy when you have a house cleaning customer to make them your best friend. Because you see them all the time. And you become familiar with them, especially people that work out of their houses. You’re like, “Hey, yeah, Stacey is my best friend.”

Spend the time when you can give her 100% undivided attention. Chit-chat. Have fun. Enjoy lunch, and then go back to being the cleaning lady when you’re at work and in your uniform.

Use your work time for work. Get together with friends off the clock. It keeps clear boundaries.

Create Boundaries When In Uniform

For years I’ve worked in my own neighborhood – here’s my rule. If I’m in my uniform, I’m on the clock. If I’m in gym clothes out walking the dog – then stop me and let’s chat and catch up. It’s a beautiful rule that I explain on my initial walkthrough – and I’ve never had a problem with client boundaries. My clients appreciate that I value their time, and I appreciate that they value mine.

But when I’m in my uniform and I’m at your house, I got 60 seconds to say, “Hi, and I got to get to work. I’m on the clock, and I know you work out of your house, you’re on the clock too, let’s get to work.” You have to have boundaries, otherwise, it will completely unravel your business, and it wastes company time.

7: Waste Time Yucking it up with your kids, parents or friends while you’re at work

It’s great to wear an earpiece and chat while you’re working. Proven fact: you’re not as efficient at cleaning while shooting the breeze on the phone.

If you have to get a message to your Mom, or your kids, send a quick text. Better yet, voice record your text by clicking on the microphone button. You’ll save time if you don’t have to take your gloves off, and use your thumbs to type.

8: Waste Time Listening to the Wrong Kind of Music

Do you have an Anne Murray client? So I have this client who God bless them only have one album. It’s an Anne Murray album and they play it over and over and over while I’m cleaning. Three hours of Anne Murray every other week. It is calming, but it is THE WRONG music for fast-paced house cleaning. (No offense Anne.) And they are home the entire time I’m cleaning. And they are in their 80’s, so if it brings them joy, they hey, I want them to listen to it. But if you’re listening to leisure music, you will have a tendency to work at a leisure pace. Just sayin’.

Going back to the Bluetooth headphones, a lot of people listen to music while they’re cleaning.

Scientific Breakthrough in Sound Productivity

Did you know that there is music at a certain tempo that has been scientifically proven to make you work faster? In fact, there’s a whole company that has built its business around productivity and it’s called Focus at Will.

Instead of listening to music, you can just listen to sounds. I know that when I’m in my office working, I will turn on a drum beat at a certain tempo, you can speed it up, or slow it down, at what pace you want to work.

It’s brilliant for this fact. Your heart starts beating in rhythm with the rhythm of whatever it is you’re listening to.

9: Waste Time Checking App Notifications

Yeah, it’s cool to be on Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook but not while you’re cleaning. Turn off your app notifications. You don’t need to be in your pocket checking who beeped you every ten seconds. Check your apps between houses and when you get home – not on the clock.

In fact, put your phone on airplane mode when you go to a customer’s house. It’s common courtesy and your customers will respect you for it.

10: Waste Time When Clients Call You

And who’s calling while you’re cleaning? Other clients? Prospects?

My iPhone has a built-in messaging system. The phone rings, and I can click a “Sorry I can’t talk right now” option.

The caller then leaves a message and when I’m done a cleaning, I can call them right back.

On my initial walkthrough, I tell my clients I prefer text to phone. If I’m busy cleaning, I don’t talk on the phone out of respect to the person who bought my time. If I don’t answer, leave a voicemail and call you right back between jobs. Since I explain it to them, they are not surprised when it happens. Also, we’ve set some really clear boundaries about time management.

Most of my long-term relationships with clients are based on quick texts (with emoji’s). It saves so much time for both of us.

Long drawn out conversations that are better as a phone conversation are better off the clock anyway.

All righty, that’s my two cents for today. Until we meet again, leave the world a cleaner place than when you found it.

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